Other reviewers are more equivocal. A Popular Mechanics blogger says Save-a-Blade
may make blades a tiny bit sharper, but adds that users may be taken in by
the placebo effect, squeezing a few more shaves out of their cartridge razors
simply because they believe the product works. Two other local TV stations
report positive results with the device, with one bleeding test subject giving
Save-a-Blade a grade of A despite legs that look "beat-up."

Our Sources

Reporter Yvonne Zanos asks two viewers, Rick and Debbie Brown, to test Save-a-Blade over a full month. Rick agrees to shave one side his face with a disposable razor, while using a razor sharpened with Save-a-Blade on the other. Debbie performs the same test on her legs. Neither of them are impressed with the results. Rick says the Save-a-Blade "seemed to really decrease the sharpness of the blade," while Debbie says she couldn't discern a difference. Yvonne Zanos also asks two grad students from Carnegie Mellon University to examine blades sharpened with Save-a-Blade under a microscope. They conclude that Save-a-Blade doesn't make much of a difference in blade sharpness, if any.

A Popular Mechanics' blogger divides his face and bald head into quarters, shaving each with a different blade. He uses a new razor, a dull razor, a razor run through the Save-a-Blade and a dull blade that's been honed (but not with Save-a-Blade). He concludes that Save-a-Blade is "not exactly the razor-blade fountain of youth, but useful enough -- as a placebo -- to encourage you to squeeze a few more shaves out of a dull blade."

Nicole Fierro, About.com's guide to hair removal, says Save-a-Blade "did not work any of the eighteen times I tried using it." What's more, she says, the device dulled an otherwise new razor blade. Fierro gives the product one star out of five, saying she tried it unsuccessfully on nine different brands of razor. (Note: ConsumerSearch and About.com are owned by the same parent company but not affiliated editorially.)

WXIA asks a regular shaver to informally evaluate Save-a-Blade. After using it for two weeks, he says the blades weren't any sharper and they began to irrittate his skin. The tester says Save-a-Blade isn't any more effective than simply drying off his razors and gives Save-a-Blade two thumbs down.

Reporter Joe Terrell asks Philip Stauts to try Save-a-Blade on his most expensive cartridge razor, and he says the product works as advertised. Stauts says his razor, which was quite dull, is noticeably sharper after using the Save-a-Blade for five seconds. He agrees to shave one side of his face with a dull blade and the other side with a razor sharpened by Save-a-Blade. After shaving, he says the Save-a-Blade side is smoother and is less irritated than the other.

In this odd review, KFVS reporter Lauren Keith asks a local woman named Sherry Brown to try out Save-a-Blade. Both women say the device is unsettlingly loud, but that it works equally well on three different blades. Although Sherry gets a lot of nicks while shaving, she thinks they are a testament to the blade's sharpness. "'I'm bleeding, but I'd still give it an A," she says.

Save-a-Blade receives almost universally negative reviews from the 20 or so users posting on this site, though there are a few scattered raves. Most owners complain that the product simply doesn't work, and even ruined new razors after just one shave.

ConsumerSearch editors personally research every product category to recommend the best choices. Expert review sources are heavily weighted, but user reviews, especially those where durability or usability are a factor, are crucial to helping us finalize our top picks.

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